lr2017

Polk Audio MM1 Series 8" Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer with Ultra-Marine Certification

rkw77080

Polk MM1 Series DVC is rated for 4-ohm impedance. It is not the best fit, electrically, for either the Mark Levinson or the Pioneer system. For your reference, the Mark Levinson utilizes a single channel 16-ohm impedance subwoofer, and the Pioneer uses a dual channel 2-ohm impedance subwoofer.

All that being said, any subwoofer will make sound. Lower-than-specify impedance subwoofer will tend to allow more current to pass through the subwoofer and can cause the system to overheat. Higher-than-specify impedance subwoofer will not allow enough current to pass through the subwoofer and produce less sound.

Please check out the link below for additional details...
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...on-ml-sub.html

lr2017

Thank you for your response. You mention Polk in one sentence and Pioneer in other, are they same company? I am wondering why you mention about pioneer having 2 ohms when the polk has a 4 ohms impedance. Also, I understand ML has 14.5 ohms and there are non-OEM subs for same rating available correct? Also, just so I understood correctly, putting Polk 4+4=8 ohms (in series dual coil) will still be less than 14.5ohms so the Polk will draw higher current from ML amp and so that means risk of frying the Amp?

rkw77080

The LS430 offers 2 audio options: Mark Levinson and Pioneer. The two options differ in the way their subwoofers are wired.


So if you have a Mark Levinson system, the best choice would be a 8+8 DVC subwoofer wired in series. You're correct that putting a 4+4 DVC wired in series (less than 14.5 ohms resistance) will draw higher current than the ML is designed for. "Frying" is probably a strong word, but with prolong play at high volume will definitely shorten the life of your amp. Please note that speakers are rated in terms of "Impedance", which is not easy to measure. You can approximate "Impedance" by measuring the "Resistance", which will give you a slightly lower measurement. For example, a 16-ohm (or 8-ohm DVC wired in series) speaker will measure 14-15 ohms on an Ohm-meter.

lr2017

Make sense now, I assumed all LS430 had ML. Thanks very much!